croissant

Anyone fancy a pastry – this article (which could provide much inspiration for some of our regional foods) tells us:

A baker from Nice has launched a crusade to save France’s “genuine” croissant from extinction amid claims that 85 per cent of the famous Gallic pastries bought in boulangeries are now “industrial”.

Frédéric Roy, 46, who runs a humble bakery near the Riviera city’s Promenade des anglais, struck a national chord after lamenting that the vast majority of croissants and pains au chocolat (chocolate pastries) sold in French boulangeries were, in his words, “de la merde” (crap).

“They barely look or taste like the real thing,” he lamented. “A bad croissant gives a bad impression of our national heritage.”

“I want the French to be able to buy a croissant knowing it is made with proper raw materials.”

He is calling for a decree creating a special “traditional” label for the quintessential French pastries guaranteeing they are made from flour containing no additives, top-quality butter with a local appellation, or AOP, and baked on the premises.

Margarine is a total no-no and the pastries cannot be reheated or cooked from frozen.

After years working America, Mr Roy said: “Today it is probably easier to find a proper croissant in Los Angeles than it is in France, and yet it is a pillar of our gastronomy“.